As if playing for a third straight Second Region championship wasn’t enough, Henderson County has the added motivation of playing for one of their own this season.

Setter Morgan Farris is likely to be out for the entire season after tearing her Achilles tendon during her club season and undergoing surgery.

“We all hurt as a unit for Morgan. No one can imagine what that could feel like to put so much time in since middle school and time away from family and then going into her senior year and it’s over,” Henderson County coach Ashley Sallee-Robinson said. “A lot of them want this for themselves and for her. I know that’s what I’m coaching for.”

Farris, who is holding out hope that she will be released to play in late October or early November for the postseason, still has a big role on the team. “It’s hard,” she said. “I’m helping with the younger setters that we have, encouraging my teammates and being a big supporter for them.”

Eighth grader Jordan Troutman and freshman Kaylee Norman will move into the setter’s role and that will be a big adjustment for the two young players.

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Hannah Watkins, a junior and returning starter for Henderson County, hits the ball past Caldwell County's Katie VanHooser during last year's Second Region championship.(Photo: Alex Slitz / The Gleaner)

“They are fast enough now but their awareness of who’s around them and who’s on the other side is what we have catch up on,” Sallee-Robinson said. The experienced players on the court will help in that transition.

“They are surrounded by great players -- Libbie Dockemeyer, Cayce Chaykowsky, Maggie Vincent, Sophie Margelot, Hannah Watkins. Those are kids who aren’t going to come off the court much,” she said.

The Lady Colonels, who finished 29-10 last season, have six seniors on their roster including returning starters Chaykowsky and Dockemeyer.

Chaykowksky has committed to playing volleyball at Saint Louis University and spent two weeks this summer playing on the USA Volleyball High Performance team which won the bronze medal in the girls youth international tournament.

Dockemeyer, who has been a member of the varsity team since she was in eighth grade, also has plans to play on the college level.

One of her roles as a senior is to mentor the younger players. “I’ve been in their spot. I know how it is coming fresh from middle school going to regional tournaments. I didn’t think it was scary but I can see where they would think it is scary. That’s why I want to be there for them to make sure there are no nervous moments,” Dockemeyer said.

Back-to-back region titles are a motivation for the Lady Colonels but also for their opponents.

“It’s definitely a big, big target on our back. Any team that is gunning for us has every reason to,” Sallee-Robinson said. “I don’t think Region is going to be easy for us at all. A lot of the teams are basing their practices around how do we beat Henderson County.”

Senior Emma Gillham welcomes that. “That’s a really big motivator for us. We want to keep getting further and further (at the state level),” she said. “We want teams to look at us and say, 'I want to beat them.' ”

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Cayce Chaykowsky, a returning starter and senior for Henderson County, dives on the floor to keep a ball in play during a match last season against Daviess County.(Photo: Jason Clark / Gleaner)

“We’ve been to state the past two years and I think we can get there again this year if we work together, communicate and trust one another on and off the court,” said senior NiYa Davis.

The Lady Colonels open their regular-season schedule on Tuesday at Union County with the home opener set for Thursday against Bosse.